Vertical farming proposals for cities

Scientists at Columbia University are proposing a delightfully retrofuturist concept -- giant vertical farms smack dab in the center of Manhattan.

The idea is simple enough. Imagine a 30-storey building with glass walls, topped off with a huge solar panel.
On each floor there would be giant planting beds, indoor fields in effect.
There would be a sophisticated irrigation system.
And so crops of all kinds and small livestock could all be grown in a controlled environment in the most urban of settings.
That means there would be no shipping costs, and no pollution caused by moving produce around the country.